Friday, July 18, 2008

Finding a Balance

My mind is stronger than my body.My soul is stronger still.But my family, well, it wins the lottery.For them I will bend all three to His will.

I've been struggling a lot lately with finding a proper balance in my life. There are a few things I hands-down love to do like writing, reading, and photography. Then there are the things I need to do like cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc. Then there are the things that I should be doing like making more of an effort to magnify my calling in the church, exercising on a regular basis, enriching my children's lives with daily educational experiences, speaking calmly and kindly to my family, and enhancing my marital relationship with weekly dates and heart-felt talks.

Well, you already know where I am - a little too much blogging, plenty of TV watching, not enough cooking, no exercising, and maybe quarterly dates. For the last three days, however, I have been dragging myself physically and mentally to the treadmill. And it's made a huge difference on my "betterment" outlook. They say 21 days will make a habit and I'm going to put the theory to the test. In an effort to boost my moral while running this morning, I came up with the little poem above. It was brain-bending, but in 40 minutes, I managed to come up with those four little lines. Woo hoo, Liz!

They mean a lot to me, those four measly lines, for my family truly is my greatest motivator in all things. I will exercise for them. I will be kinder for them. I will strive to live a righteous life so that I can live forever with them. I will cook for them, clean for them, teach them, love them, cry for them, laugh with them and give up myself for them. Why? Because I know how much my Heavenly Father loves me and I want them to feel that same love from me, their mother and wife. Without my family, life means nothing to me. If I can't give them my best self, what else do I have to offer? Is it easier said than done? Absolutely. But writing is my outlet and it seems to lend more weight to a matter if I write it down.

So, even if it means making spaghetti for the 300th time or only lasting 10 minutes on the treadmill before I have to hop down to break up a fight, I am going to try my darndest to be the best me. And I'll start right now by finishing up the laundry, and doing some dishes, and picking up toys, and scrubbing out toilet rings, and ... oh bother, hang it all! I guess I'll start with a nap - because we're all better people when we get enough sleep, right?

3 comments:

That picture of Soren is perfect for your post. His eyes seem to be saying "Please clean, mommy." :)

Balance is tough. I think all of the things you listed do need attention and are important to a well-rounded, happy life for you and your family. However, I would not beat yourself up over taking a day off here and there. I promise your kids will remember fun days playing the yard or the park with mommy much more fondly then whether or not there were rings in the toilet bowl.

Perhaps you need to re-read Dan's tribute to you from a few days ago! Sounds to me as though you are doing an awesome job in all of your endeavors! :)

I love this post. We all struggle with balance. I've been thanking Heavenly father in my prayers all week for each member of my family. I've been reflecting on how much I truly love them a lot lately (probably natural when you have a new member in the family) it amazes me how love can just grow and grow, and that's happened alot since I've had little Seth. What a perfect motivation! Kudos for your 10 minutes on the treadmill...as long as you work up a sweat, you're doing great. The endurance gets better and better every day...I'm a total believer in doing what you can when you can and pacing yourself when it comes to exercise. There's no need to compare yourself with anyone else's endurance but your own. That's what I tell myself during my post-baby workouts anyway.